Sectarian rhetoric faces legal action in Iraq
Shafaq News- Baghdad
Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council on Sunday ordered courts and prosecutors to take legal action against sectarian incitement in the media and on social platforms.
The council directed investigative courts and public prosecutors to monitor sectarian rhetoric used to stir division for political or personal interests and act under Iraqi law.
The State Administration Coalition, Iraq’s ruling political umbrella, met on September 5 with the country’s four top state authorities and political leaders and called for rejecting sectarian rhetoric and punishing those promoting it in violation of the constitution and law.
The directive comes amid a series of recent controversies in Iraq involving sectarian rhetoric and alleged insults to religious beliefs. A widely circulated video recently sparked public outrage and calls for legal action, while activists and media figures in Erbil have been arrested in separate cases on accusations of insulting Islam. Separately, Iraq’s media regulator imposed 90-day television bans on two public figures over sectarian remarks.
Read more: Religion in Iraq: Heritage of civilization or a catalyst for conflict?
